Outpost 2219

Most histories make little mention of the Rubicon Dynasty between the time of Trayzn’s defeat and his return to the fray on the 41st day of the war. These histories suggest Overlord Zenith spent all that time consolidating his forces on the remains of the shattered moon Abfall. This is plausible because no faction involved in the war during that period paid any mind to the remnants of the Rubicon Necrons. The Rubicon Dynasty had thrown all of its might against the Sautekh Necrons as they rose from their Tombs at the onset of the war. The Rubicon and Sautekh Dynasties clashed in many battles on the same day the Battle of First Contact raged, the ancient feud of millions of years ago not forgotten by either side. The loss of Trayzn would have been felt by every Necron within the Rubicon Dynasty, a blow that would have caused the whole of the army to falter.

The remains of the Rubicon host that had been sent to the planet Adrilles from Abfall via a Gate of Infinity were now scattered across the volcanic north of Adrilles. Jagers and Space Wolves operating in that region make mention of engaging the Rubicon Necrons in the days and weeks following the opening salvo of the war, so it is certain numerous Rubicons had been left behind when Trayzn’s army collapsed. Interestingly, one Adrilles historian who focused much of his work on the Rubicon Necrons provides a possible answer to what Trayzn’s forces were up to during his absence.

He suggests the Rubicon Necrons throughout the volcanic north began to consolidate into larger groups in order to coordinate planned attacks against Sautekh positions. (This is corroborated by other histories.) The historian also suggests that smaller units were assembled as well, comprised of elite, specialized troops whose purpose was to hunt down and kill Tyranids freed from the shackles of Jager control. This theory remains controversial, but the historian’s reasoning is sound:

“Any military unit operating in the volcanic north at that time would have had to remove the Tyranid threat from any sector in which it wished to conduct ops. Failing to do so would have jeopardized any defensive or offensive position gained. Tyranids freed from Jager control would have been unpredictable and formidable.”

It is known that Rubicon Necrons fought the Tyranids (and forces of Chaos) at the onset of the series of battles known as The Klendathu Three. Alois Fischer of the Erkunden (scout regiment within the Jager Corps), whose chronicling of The Klendathu Three would make him one of the most controversial figures of the Adrilles War, seems to have recorded a skirmish between Rubicon Necrons and Tyranids that lends support to the historian’s theory. That skirmish is presented below– as reconstructed from Fischer’s official logs and personal diaries.

“We took up position at [edited], 3.25 km from base camp at [edited] at 05:01:15 local. The sky remained scorched and angry so we relied on the full spectrum of our optics. In the washed-out patchwork of feeds, we discerned a newborn Tyranid nest with a small host of Tyranid sentinels.

“From our position on the ridge, we put together a plan to assault the Tyranids with the intent of detonating the nest, which was formed from a mass of liquidated sons of the Imperium– I could see Jagers and Wolf armour among the mass– fused with the skeleton of a Jager comms tower. The roads laid by our brothers when we came to this planet were still intact though not a single building stood whole. Two low, black ridges stretched across the area. Those were not natural. They emitted a cloud that hung low over the outpost’s remains. That cloud was similar to the one surrounding one of the Tyranid monsters– a many-tentacled beast that floated across the ground, a swarm of smaller monsters shrouded in its opaque vapours.

“As we split into two groups to begin our assault there arose a clamour that drew our attention. A fast-moving group coming from the north was opening fire on the Tyranid position. The three synaptic beasts– we call them Warriors– each took a number of smaller, scuttling kin and moved forward to meet the approaching attackers. Those attackers were Necrons, and as the Tyranids rushed forward a shot split the head of one of the smaller defenders.

“There were five single Necrons. Foot soldiers of some sort, but not warriors working as a group. Each Necron operated on its own, moving up a few feet, standing its ground, hoisting its weapon, looking down the great length of its barrel and firing a shot. These were surely the Necron equivalent of Marine snipers, though these metal creatures did not dig in. They moved. Ever moving.

“Skimming alongside these Necron snipers were figures fused with their vehicle–something akin to a jetbike. There were three and each cut across the tomb-like surface of the battlefield like blades, the propulsion throwing a cloud of debris behind the machine. Each had a different array of weaponry. There was the crackle and light of Tesla, the snap of carbine, and even larger denotations that threw debris high over what had become a battlefield.

“On the west flank, a Necron jetbike rose above one of the outpost ruins and fired into the approaching Tyranids. Return fire was more deadly. The fragile jetbike detonated, its rider torn from its embrace and cast into the broken ruins of the building. One of the Necron snipers hugged what remained of the outer wall, shooting into the cloud that covered the Tyranids approach. A moment later, the Necron collapsed, peppered by the Tyranids more accurate fire.

“The foot soldiers were having trouble scoring kills through the screening cloud, but the jetbikes were seemingly unaffected. A glow around the bike and rider suggested enhanced shielding, and an array on top of the bike suggested enhanced targeting systems capable of picking out foes in cover. Indeed, the two remaining Necron jetbikes were responsible for several kills.

“With the west flank clear of enemies, the Tyranids swung east in order to join up with the central group and a third group that was running parallel to one of the unnatural black ridges in an effort to get to the Necrons using the ridge as cover. From our vantage point, it was clear to me the Necrons were rushing to get past the Tyranids in order to reach the nest.

“One of the Necron snipers fell back and took up a position at the center of the battlefield. From there, it picked off the leading Tyranid in the group moving from the west to east. It continued to fire and drop Tyranids moving east even as some of the beastly group broke off in an effort to silence the killing fire. The Tyranids running parallel to the ridge finally reached its end and moved in to intercept the approaching Necrons. One of the jetbikes got through the cordon. Other Necrons that had taken up positions to provide covering fire were destroyed or maimed though several Tyranids fell to their fire beforehand.

“As we watched, the Necron jetbike who had gotten past the Tyranids drove at speed not just to the nest but directly into it. The resulting explosion lit the underbelly of dark clouds and caused wet debris to rain down on the battlefield.

“After the nest was destroyed, some Tyranids ran off after the remaining Necrons. Others went into the flaming remains of the nest and never re-emerged.

“The flames had died down by the time we had moved up to the once outpost. There was something we needed to know and we found our answer as we turned over inert Necrons. Each bore the symbol of the Rubicon Dynasty.”

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About caperaway

I’m a publisher writer of graphic novels and short fiction. Published works include Acts of Violence: An Anthology of Crime Comics, The Grim Collection, Black Salt, and Psychosis.
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